Avona
Mei Hua Tran is an original fictional character who first appeared in New Mutants: Last Class.New Mutants: Last Class #1 Prodigal Children part 3 "Unfortunate Son" Character History Background Orphaned at an early age, Mei Hua Tran bounced around the foster care system for 4 years before finding herself under the care of the Wilkes family along with several other fostered children, not the least of which was Nathan Jacobe. Mei immediately felt a connection with Nathan, who had more recently lost his parents and who attended her new school, and he seemed to feel it too. New Mutants: Last Class When Nathan's mutant powers activated in the middle of a wrestling match with his best friend, Patrick, nearly killing the boy, Mei was there to console him, refusing to see him as some kind of monster just for being a mutant. Unfortunately, their foster family didn't see it that way, and the teens were forced to take up residence at the Xavier Institute. While Josh Foley, a fellow mutant, officially adopted Nathan, as a baseline human Mei felt uncomfortable staying at Xavier's. She was soon taken in by Gail Colins, a woman who had lost her only daughter, Laurie, to a Purifier attack on the school. Mei managed to find work at the Grind Stone Cafe in Salem Center, a popular hang-out among mutant students which allowed her to contribute some money for food and other expenses while getting to see Nathan as often as possible. It wasn't long before Mei and Nathan were an official couple, though their relationship was not without its rough patches. His uncontrolled, energy-draining mutant power made prolonged skin-to-skin contact impossible; anything more than the faintest peck on the cheek would be a severe risk to her health. Moreover, Nathan's very status as a mutant made him a target for anti-mutant groups, such as the Purifiers, who might use Mei in order to get to him. This very nearly led to disaster when Nathan's old friend Patrick, now a Purifier and a reaver, used Mei to set a trap for Nathan and his friends. Timeskip and the Last Stand The last straw in Mei and Nathan's relationship was Ambrosy Voronovich. She was every girlfriend's worst nightmare: Beautiful, intelligent, and not only a fellow mutant but one cursed with an equally lethal death touch that just so happened to cancel out with Nathan's - she was the magic bullet that split them apart for good. Mei remained in Salem Center following the Last Stand of the X-Men, believing that supporters of mutant rights were needed there more than ever. Even after Gail moved back to Los Angeles, Mei found herself an apartment and took on extra shifts at the Grind Stone. She watched powerless as the Xavier Institute was abandoned, boarded up, sold, and vandalized, as gloating Purity-backed politicians passed sweeping anti-mutant legislation. It made her angry, but more than anything she worried about Nathan. That's when David Alleyne, Nathan's former mentor, approached her with an offer: He had sold his services to the Initiative and was looking for new recruits - recruits that just so happened to be heavily biased towards mutant rights. His aim was to place or convert at least one agent in every state who might help him curb the Initiative's power over mutant citizens. Realizing that Salem Center held no future for her, Mei took his offer and packed her things for Camp Hammond. Motivated by feelings and emotions that simply refused to burn out, Mei completed her grueling training and graduated into the 50-State Initiative. David managed to place her in California, where a vacancy had just opened in the roster of The Order. This placement was ideal for two reasons: Firstly, the Order was made up of members whose powers could be easily granted to a human with no innate super powers such, as herself; and secondly, because it just so happened that Nathan had taken up residence San Francisco under a false identity- along with his wife, Ambrosy, and their newborn son, Alexander. New X-Men Mei served in The Order as the third Avona, and was partnered with Bluetooth, an artificially intelligent Stark-tech sword who not only supplied her with the majority of her powers, but who had been programmed by David himself to have a strong pro-mutant bias. Together, she and Bluetooth kept silent watch over the Jacobe family - or the Williamses, as they were known to the public. Things went smoothly year after year, with Nathan and Ambrosy somehow managing to keep their heads down while pursuing their studies at Berkeley, until mere weeks before the passage of Senator Whedon's Mutant Rights Act. A Berkeley student reported a rogue mutant on campus, who turned out to be one of Nathan's students. Mei managed to keep Nathan and his son off the Initiative's radar, but only barely. The Mutant Rights Act which effectively decriminalized the X-gene came as a relief to Mei, who watched with joy as Nathan and his old friends reuinited and re-opened the Xavier Institute. But the mutants were not out of the woods yet: The Initiative might not be hunting them any longer, but they were sure to gather other enemies. When David Alleyne approached her to request her help in safeguarding the mutant race one more time, Mei didn't even hesitate. She agreed to join his new 52nd Initiative team, unofficially dubbed The Wildcards, and was granted the responsibility of acting as the team's field leader. Shortly after assembling, the 52nd was invited to some sort of social gathering at the Xavier Institue - a barbeque, to be precise - which David figured would be as good an opportunity as any to introduce themselves to the New X-Men. This was a particularly emotional moment for Mei, but she reluctantly agreed to unmask herself. Powers and Abilities Mei Hua is a normal human whose super powers stem from a psychokinetic connection to Bluetooth, sword made of an advanced alloy thought to contain vibranium, and infused with Stark Tech artificial intelligence. Bluetooth is custom tuned to Mei's brain waves, allowing the two to communicate intuitively. Bluetooth contains a highly advanced sensory array, and can feed any data it collects directly into Mei's mind. It can also send signals to areas of Mei's mind responsible for motor control, effectively increasing her agility and reflexes to superhuman levels, and granting her the combat ability of a master swordswoman. The sword is also equipped with repulsor technology that enables both it and Mei to fly at speeds approaching 200 mph. As part of her Avona uniform, Mei's hair is artificial and appears a chestnut brown rather than her natural glossy black; Bluetooth also uses harmonic emitters to alter her voice to further conceal her identity. Mei herself has had extensive Initiative training and is in peak physical condition. References Theme Category:The Order Category:The Initiative Category:Female Characters Category:Americans Category:Original Characters